At least the first twenty minutes were bad, which was all I could stomach.
I have a big backlog of mathsy things to write about, with the VCAA-MAV confederacy of bullshitting newly added to the list. And of course I’m way, way late to be writing anything about Oppenheimer. But the movie really annoyed me and if this blog is for a nothing else it is to express annoyance.
I seldom see new-release movies. They are typically tedious and I don’t like cinemas, which are expensive to attend and which have other people in them. I had no desire to see Oppenheimer (or Barbie) when it came out. But there I was, on a Chinese flight, and it was pretty much a choice between Octonauts in Mandarin and Oppenheimer. I made the wrong the choice.
For the life of me I cannot see how anybody can like that movie, let alone award it half a dozen Oscars. It was an absurd puppet show, a mile up its own ass with cheap profundity and with the crappy music unceasingly yelling at you, demanding what you were to think as the camera zoomed in on weight-of-the-World faces and then panned meaningfully over yet another horizon. It was unwatchable. On a plane, with no real competing choices, it was unwatchable.
The movie is mediocre at best, very hard to disagree with your assessment. Well the movie was competing with Barbie for the audience, so what else did we expect.
I have not yet seen Barbie. And I’m sure it has issues. But Oppenheimer was so butt pretentious. That even the most commie liberal Barb would be superior to Oppie.
And I’ve done a few months on the mesa. Had lunch with the guy who made the molds for the ww2 bombs.
What a collasal bore of Brit music blaring.
Go watch the 1988 Paul Newman movie instead. And it’s not even good. But watchable.
I would have walked our of Oppie, but was at some defense contractor private showing. And the guest of a long friend. But I still did several very long trips to the head.
Please do not comment “anonymously”. (Fake name is fine.)
I don’t know the Paul Newman movie you are referring to. You mean Torn Curtain?
Fat Man and Little Boy, 1989, with Paul Newman. The dramatic scene with John Cusack is based on a true story that was legend at Los Alamos. I knew about it before the film.
It did not get great reviews but I liked it having brushed up against the faint time echoes of it in real life, before the movie came out. I could be confused, but i think it was shown in Los Alamos, several months prior to the national release.
And it wasn’t some collosal bore. Just a flick. You would have been fine on the plane with it. Oppie? Let me jump out sans chute!
OK. Once again, please do not comment without a name.
I’m glad that someone else sees that it’s a bad film. It’s had so much hype that you’d expect no one to have the guts to say it out loud. But I agree. I thought it was a terrible film. Yes, it’s a true story, and an important story to be told but I believe it could have been much more effectively told and in half the time or less. It dragged and it was boring. Also I take strong exception to the exploitation of the woman in that completely gratutious and unnecessary scene where she has to sit, on his lap naked in a room full of fully clothed men and simulate sex. Truly offensive.
Thanks, Anne. I didn’t last long enough for the sex scene. Given Oppenheimer was a womaniser and the committees had the effect of stripping Oppenheimer naked, I’m not sure the scene was gratuitous, but I’m certainly willing to believe that it was fake-profound and bad.
I enjoyed it, but I also like Nolan’s maximalist style of film-making. I get why it’s divisive. I am also generally not a fan of cinema, especially contemporary trends. I think it is positive that there is at least one director still doing earnest blockbusters rather than by-the-numbers-superhero stuff.
Wall of sound is good for pop music and really really sucks for movies.
On a plane, I prefer to read a book. I have always considerable given thought to the book I take to read. My method is not perfect; twice I have lost the book I was reading during the trip. Once I left it in the terminal; another time I left it in the pocket in the back of the seat in front of me. It’s a long time since I last travelled by plane, and I can’t see myself doing it again.
Of course. It is essential to bring a good book(s) on a long flight. Nonetheless, it’s sensible to look for a good movie. Oppenheimer was not even good enough for an airplane.
Hi Marty! I’m Electra and I’m such a big fan of your work. I’m currently a post-grad at Stanford 🙂
I totally agree with your stance, Oppenheimer wasn’t my fav either… Not historically accurate and such a snooze.
Can I recommend Air Bud to you? it might not have that much cinematic validity, but it’s a fun watch for sure! Definitely a great break from my overbearing Stanford workload. I’m sure you can relate 🙂
I’m not sure Air Bud is my kind of movie but, yes, I much prefer unpretentious fluff to Deep Meaning junk.